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Sports correspondent & historian with |
Cricket is the game of summer in the Western Bay of Plenty, with a world-class international cricket ground right on our doorstep.
Visits from the Aussies for a T20 International series in October and a one-dayer against England in November turned out to be just the entrée to the Black Caps’ test match against the West Indies a few days before Christmas.
In just over a decade, the Bay Oval has evolved from a fledgling international cricket venue into a world-class wicket.
The first day of the test completely belonged to the home side, who were hungry to climb the table in the four-year cycle of the ICC World Test Championship.
Black Caps openers Devon Conway and Tom Latham weathered everything the Windies bowlers could throw at them, and by stumps, New Zealand were 334 for the loss of a solitary wicket.
Latham had reached 137 before being dismissed, with Conway sitting on 178 overnight. Day Two mirrored the opening day’s play, with the hosts declaring at 575/8. Conway finally finished with 227 from a marathon 508 minutes at the crease.
West Indies pride came back hard, with the Caribbean side posting 420 runs in their first innings at the Bay Oval.
New Zealand’s second innings resembled a T20 smash-and-bash, with a second declaration at 306 for the loss of just two wickets.
The Conway–Latham demolition machine continued in the Black Caps’ second turn at bat. Latham posted 101 runs, while Conway finished with a neat century to his name.
The two Kiwi batters blasted their way into ICC Test match history, becoming the first opening pair to post a century in both innings.
Conway became just the twelfth batsman to score both a double century and a century in Test match cricket—a record that dates back to 1877.
His double ton adds to a remarkable milestone of three double centuries in six Tests at the Bay Oval.
Another notable achievement was Conway and Latham joining Kane Williamson as players who have scored centuries in both innings at the Bay Oval.
A coveted five-wicket haul from Jacob Duffy bundled the Windies out for 138, giving New Zealand a massive 323-run innings win.
In the same week as the Bay Oval Test, Bay of Plenty cricket followers enjoyed a dream build-up to the fireworks, with the Bay senior representative side completing a shutout at the ND Super Smash tournament in Taupō.
The Bay side applied the same domination to the three-day T20 tournament that the Black Caps displayed against the West Indies.
First up, Bay of Plenty put fierce rival Hamilton to the sword with a seven-wicket victory. Northland and Counties Manukau followed courtesy of five- and six-wicket wins on Day Two.
Bay of Plenty saved the best for last, defeating defending ND Super Smash champions Waikato Valley by nine wickets before grabbing the win points on offer against an ND Invitation selection.
This gave Bay of Plenty Cricket all three ND senior representative trophies in 12 months, after winning the one- and two-day prizes last season.
Western Bay of Plenty cricket fans will have an opportunity to catch the ND T20 champions when they play Waikato Valley on 21 and 22 February 2026 at the Bay Oval, as they attempt to go back-to-back in the Fergus Hickey Rosebowl title race.
